Six is Enough
by mecedeme
Summary: Meow! Hint: it's not really about the cats... Sequel to 'Just a Little Kitty'
1. Chapter 1

AN -I just had to get my Lizzie out to play again. Of course I own none of the others in this fic, and I'm making no financial gain from any of this, but the desire to storm NBC's office and kick some cheerleader butt...

Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Oh, Lord, no! 

Jordan dropped her bag, her mp3 player landed on the table and her jaw landed on her chest. There in the middle of her bed lay her beloved cat, Lizzie. Liz had put on weight lately and wasn't quite as active as she had been. Jordan had assumed that she was just getting older, growing out of kitten-hood, blossoming under excellent care and (quite expensive) food.

Turns out it was none of the above.

Jordan flipped open her phone, and called Woody. "Congratulations. You're a grandfather, or an uncle or something."

"Jordan?"

"I said congratulations. You would think a medical doctor would have some idea what pregnancy looks like…"

"JORDAN? We haven't…"

"I'm not talking about me, it's Lizzie."

"Lizzie's pregnant?" Woody sighed in relief. "Wow! So she found a boyfriend that time she escaped. When do you think the kittens will arrive? Uh, what are you going to do with them?"

"Lizzie's not pregnant."

Silence.

"Woody?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"There's a very proud cat sitting in the middle of my bed, the throw blanket is bunched up in a nest, and there are five – nope, six kittens in there. Looks like they've all bellied up to the bar and it's lunch time. My blanket, and probably most of the bedding, is ruined."

Another brief pause ensued, before Jordan thought she heard a light snicker.

"So, you're telling me that Jordan Cavanaugh is now the owner of SEVEN cats? This I have got to see!"

Jordan's voice box let a small moan of despair escape. "Why me?"

"Because, God knows you need someone to love. Besides me, that is. Look I'm off now, I'll come meet the kids. I haven't seen new kittens in a long time."

"Great. Can you pick up something tall, cold and very alcoholic on the way? Thanks. Bye."

Jordan stared at Lizzie, who very calmly returned the stare. The cat couldn't figure out why her pet was just standing there. It would seem appropriate for her to come over and visit the kittens, pay homage to her new princes and princesses. Maybe she was jealous, her pet hadn't made her own kittens yet. That nice cuddly one with the soothing deep voice kept coming by, but still nothing. Lizzie stopped wondering, allowed her weary eyes to droop, and contentedly purred herself to sleep.

Jordan sat on the side of the bed, looking at her new little responsibilities. "God? I know I don't talk to you all that much, and I don't always have the time to go to church, but really – six kittens? Me? You have a warped sense of humour!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/ The bit about the grandmother is autobiographical for me, my sweet little French Memere was ruthless. (still is at the young age of 90). Thanks for R&R-ing, I'm loving the positive strokes I get around here! Heaven knows I don't get many with all the teenagers I work with. **

* * *

Woody knelt by Jordan's bed, gently stroking each kitten on the tiny head.

"You're a grandmother!" His eyes sparkled with mischief.

Lizzie looked at Woody with a lazy eye. Her Jordan was nice, but she was not her mother! HER mother was very fuzzy, had eight nipples and knew how to wash herself properly, not with that strange water.

Jordan sighed and ruffled Lizzie's head. "I guess a trip to the vet would have been a good idea, hey Lizzie? Well, as soon as this batch is gone, we'll get that taken care of."

Woody smiled. As he looked into her eyes playfully he asked, "What are you going to do with six kittens? Somehow I can't see you putting them down. That's what you do on a farm, you know. Once you have too many kittens you just put the extras in a burlap sack and drown them."

"How could you?" Jordan was horrified. These babies were an unexpected pain in the neck, but she certainly couldn't kill them just because they were inconvenient. "Don't tell me you've done that?"

"Nah, that was Grandma's job. If it was just one or two, she wouldn't even drown them, she didn't really say what she did, she just, killed them. Kind of scary, actually. I never had the stomach for that job."

"There is no way these guys are going to be thrown away. Life is too precious, in any form. Especially a fuzzy, purring form, right Lizzie?"

Lizzie again gazed over her subjects with indolence. They were at last paying proper respect to her little ones, and she was pleased.

"What are their names?" Woody asked.

Jordan's eyes widened a bit. "No one told me I had to name all of them!" She raised one finger as she listed off each 'name', "How about: I. Should. Have. Had. Her. Fixed. That's six names."

"No way! They're all little individuals, they deserve a good name. Which ones are the boys?"

"The two calicos are female, because of genetics you hardly ever get a male calico. Something about the three-colour gene being on the female chromosome. The other four I don't have a clue. I tried to figure out what they were, but I can't see any sex organs at all."

Woody started to laugh. Jordan looked at him sideways and said, "What?"

"I just got a mental image of you; hard-nosed medical examiner, your hair up ready to do an examination, staring at these tiny little butts trying to see testicles in all that fur!"

"Gee, thanks, laugh at me when I'm down." Jordan pretended to look hurt. The six pack was starting to grow on her, now that she wasn't so shocked. "You know, with Mom named after Lizzie Borden, they could all be killers. Like, this one with the weird pattern around the eyes, that could be Charles Manson. Those two that look exactly the same, they could be Lyle and Eric Menendez. That one could be Susan Smith."

Woody gave her a scolding look. "Oh, come on, look at them! How could you do that to these little guys?"

"What do you think if you're so picky?"

He gazed at them all for a minute. "Well, you could go with their appearance. Like the black one could be Midnight, or Shadow. The white one could be Snowflake, or Winter."

"That's just boring. I'll have to think about it." She sighed again. "So I guess I have to put up posters looking for homes. Maybe an ad in the paper…"

"You can't just give them away to a stranger, there are weird people out there who do weird things to cats. You've got to make sure they've got a good home, not an early grave!" Woody was genuinely concerned, he'd seen some pretty awful things.

"Do you think we know six people who want a cat? I can't imagine getting that lucky."

"Uh, Jordan? What's this 'we'? Lizzie's YOUR cat…"

"Oh, no," Jordan half laughed. "If it weren't for you I'd have never kept her! You helped get me into this mess, you can help me get out of it!"

"How about I adopt one? I can handle having a cat around. And sooner or later, you and I will be together anyway, so the cats would get along…" Woody looked at Jordan, trying to read her reaction. He slipped that one in, as kind of an easy way to introduce the subject. He figured it would take a long time to convince her, so there was no time like the present to get started.

"Hmm, you're right. We'll probably come here, I mean it's bigger, right? So it would make sense for me to keep one, then we'd have two cats. That's not a big deal, right?"

"What did you say?" Woody could hardly believe what he had heard. Jordan Cavanaugh was casually discussing a major commitment. He was quite certain that Lizzie would sprout wings and fly at any moment.

Jordan looked at him with mild confusion. "Um, two cats are no big deal?"

"No, before that."

"What, you want to go to your place? I mean, it's really not that important but my place is definitely bigger. Unless you want to get a new apartment altogether, start fresh."

"Who are you? What have you done with Jordan Cavanaugh?" Woody laughed as he stood up and pulled her to him.

Jordan smiled, realizing he was surprised that she would consider any commitment. "She fell in love. With a cat! Then she realized what she'd been missing. The almost dying on a mountain changed her priorities a bit, too."

Wrapped in each others arms, they fell into each other's eyes, melting together, proving the unspoken commitment in a dizzying kiss. Woody sat on the bed and was pulling Jordan to his lap when Lizzie decided to jump down from her nest of kittens. Tiny little mews exploded, and the humans looked on with smiles.

"Well, this bed isn't much good in this condition. Help me clean the mess?" Jordan's arm rested around Woody's shoulder as he answered. "Sure. Then maybe we can talk? I mean, we kind of fell into… something at the Inn last winter, and I think it would be really smart for us to… talk, before we take the next step this time."

Jordan's sigh swept across his cheek. Being this close together felt right. Neither of them had to make a big decision, or 'get ready', somewhere along the way that had happened when they weren't looking.


	3. Chapter 3

AN - Uh, help? I can't list six American beers!

* * *

Jordan and Woody looked at each other across her table. They had cups of coffee in front of them, their hands were outstretched to each other. They had carefully placed six babies in a box, lined with a warm fuzzy blanket, and Lizzie was currently inspecting their work. Everything was perfect.

Except that neither of them knew what to say.

"Umm," started Woody. "This is the part of a talk where we, you know, talk."

Jordan smiled a little. "So, it might help if we knew what we're talking about."

Woody sighed, looking into her eyes critically. "OK, that's a good place to start. So, Jordan, what** are **we talking about?"

"So far, not much."

"Obviously."

"What if we not talk about, what it is we're not talking about, and start with something easier? Like, let's name the six pack."

Woody seemed reluctant to leave the discussion 'at hand' but it was obvious that something had to get them started. "Alright. Well, you said six pack. So, how about Guinness, Bud, Coors, _**(AN - Molson, Labatt, Kokanee, Schooner, Alpine, Moosehead, and Alexander Keith's - HELP! I need three more American Beers – I'm Eastern Canadian!)**_"

Jordan looked at him sideways for a moment. Through lidded eyes, she said, "Yeah, but they're underage." Woody gave her a dry look.

"Well it's better than murderers!"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Bud is cute, Coors could be a girl I guess. Guinness would be the tough little guy. _**(AN – again with the American Beer…**_)"

Woody raised his coffee mug. "OK, that's settled. Let's drink to the six pack!"

Jordan smiled and 'clinked' mugs with him. "To the six pack!"

They both took a sip of coffee.

And looked at one another.

"Now what?" Jordan couldn't imagine how this moment had come about. They had matured. They had faced death together, (and apart) many times. They had pounded out a successful conclusion to dozens of cases together. Yet, here they were, unable to talk about the most important thing in both of their worlds – each other.

Taking a deep sigh and standing up, Woody took Jordan's hand and pulled her up with him. He held onto her hand as he spoke.

"After everything we've been through, where are we?"

Jordan looked around. "Um, Woody? We're standing in my apartment."

He rolled his eyes, exasperated and a little angry. "Could you at least pretend you're trying?"

Jordan had the decency to look a little guilty. "OK, OK. You're right. It's just that we've never really talked when we'd planned to. The only time something significant happens is when we're in the middle of something else. I guess we just need a context, something completely un-related to our… our…"

"Ok, I'll say it first." Woody took a breath, prepared himself and said, "Our… relationship."

"Yeah, what you said." Quipped Jordan. She smiled and leaned in to give Woody a light kiss. Standing in his gentle embrace, she smiled. "Why is it easier to say the L word than… what you said?"

"How easy is it to say something you refer to as the L word?"

"Aw, jeez." Jordan pulled from him and slumped down on the couch. "I'm still doing it, aren't I?"

"Now that's something we could talk about! What is it you're doing? Because whatever the hell it is, you seem really good at it, and you've been doing it for years."

Jordan moved the hand she had thrown over her eyes. She looked at Woody for a moment. "What am I doing? I'm sabotaging a relationship. And you're right, it's what I do. It's my M.O."

Woody was afraid to move. Finally, some truth.

Jordan continued, "I have ended more relationships than – than – I don't know. It's a lot. I guess the real question is why. Howard thinks it's about my mother. I don't know, **everything** can't be about my mother, can it?"

Woody still didn't move, but he said, "OK, let's start there. Your mother died in a pool of blood when you were ten. Your father was torn away from you at that same moment. He's lied to you continually since then about everything from your life to his career. You're a medical examiner and you work with dead bodies every day. The father-figure in your life right now doesn't know where his own daughter is. Your best friend just gave birth to her daughter on the conference room table at the morgue. Nigel Townsend gives you advice. You're a medical doctor who can't diagnose pregnancy in a small cat. Umm, did I miss anything? It **isn't** all about your mother."

"Wow, I am screwed up, aren't I?"

"Jordan, I'm just as screwed-up as you are. The only thing we haven't screwed up is – us. Though God knows we've tried."

"Well, at least Lizzie isn't screwed up. Look, she's got a kitten! Hey, what's she doing?"

"Jordan, can we please focus…"

"No, really, what's she doing?"

They both watched as Lizzie carried the kitten to Jordan's room. As they arrived at her door, Jordan groaned.

"Lizzie! Come on, gimme a break!"

Lizzie carefully placed the last little princess neatly into the nest she had made on Jordan's bed. She chirruped at her pets, (she thought of Woody as her pet now, even if her Jordan hadn't figured it out yet.) She was pleased her humans were watching as she settled down to feed the kids. They had been very kind to clean out her birthing-bed, but they had forgotten to return the babies to their nest. She'd had to make a new one and bring all the little ones back. Really! When would these pets of hers figure out how to take care of children! She watched them, her Woody put his arm around her Jordan's waist. They looked at each other. Lizzie decided it was time for some attention so she chirruped again, and started to purr louder. Sure enough, the big comfy one came over and stretched out beside her, rubbing behind her ears that way he was so good at.

"Well," said Jordan. "I guess she knows what she wants. And she pretty much gets it, too."

Woody looked at her. "What do you want?"

She smiled as she took in his form, stretched out on her bed, gently stroking a mother cat with her babes. "I want you."

"And I want you. But I want you tomorrow, and the next day. Jordan, I want you forever."

"Woody. No, don't move. Here goes – I… really love you. I need you in my life, and I want you forever. In a – relationship. Forever. I love you. OK, it's getting a little easier, let me try again." She took a few steps and stood before him, in her most earnest voice said, "I love you, Woodrow Hoyt. I want to see you… every morning for the rest of my life. I want to make love to you every night." Woody sat up on the bed, ignoring a slightly put-out Lizzie, as Jordan sank to her knees. She looked up into his eyes and very quietly said, "Woody, I want you to marry me."

He had no words. The six pack softly mewled behind them, as they stared into each other's eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks for all the beer brands, everyone. I think I'll still choose the Canadian brands for actual drinking.

I just want to insert a little advertisement for CJ:VS7 (Crossing Jordan, Virtual Season Seven), to hit the 'airwaves' in September. A bunch of Nina LaVogue ladies got together and are working on thirty-one episodes. (That's one more than Heroes got next season) So stay tuned, WoJo shippers! Hold onto your seat, Seely fans! We've even got a 'show bible' so we'll be consistent! We have a fan 'wishlist' for VS7, and we're actually reading it! See you in September!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled fanfic.

* * *

"Uh, you do realize that you just went from 'L-word' to 'marry me' in under five minutes, right?" Woody considered the woman in front of him with confusion. A familiar position for him. This time though, her full eyes spoke the truth – she really wanted him to marry her.

She spoke in a sure tone of voice. "I guess you asked the right question. I know what I want. The rest is just… just – a pain in the ass. But, Woody, do you want to marry me, or not? Because, you know I'm not exactly an old-fashioned girl, so if you don't want that I'm OK with it, but if it's what you want then fine, let's do it fast, because…

"Whoa! You stopped making sense two because-s ago." Woody slid off the bed and knelt in front of her. He lightly rested his head on Jordan's forehead, took her hands in his, and softly said, "Yes, Jordan, there is nothing in the world I want more than to marry you."

They weren't sure who moved first, but a loving kiss unfolded. They opened themselves completely to each other. Now that it had been said by both of them, it wasn't so big. It was just a verbal confirmation of what already existed.

"Brrrrrrippp!" Lizzie voiced her approval. She wondered when these two would stop the face-thingy and get on to some serious loving. The little ones asleep, she padded over to the edge of the bed and rubbed her forehead against Woody's neck.

"Um… Lizzie? If you don't mind, I'm kind of busy right now…"

Jordan used the brief pause to catch her breath and think. She said firmly to herself, "Don't think too much, girl!"

Aloud, she said, "I have a proposal. Well, another proposal: let's get married tomorrow. I am **so** not into fancy clothing and flowers. That's for funerals. I'll bet if I call Paul he'll marry us right away. All we need is the license… Nige knows a guy…"

"Are you sure you want Nigel to be the one making our marriage legally binding?"

"Good point." Jordan paused for a second, then continued. "I'll call Kim, an attourney would know how to speed things up." Jordan looked at Woody with hungry eyes. "I'm tired of not being your wife." Jordan squeezed his hand. "How crazy is that?"

Jordan paused again, and doubt shaded her eyes. "Or do you want to move in together first, you know, make sure this is what we really want, because we don't want this to turn into something we rush into…

"If you say 'because' one more time… Besides. I think we can safely say we haven't rushed into anything." Woody glared with mock disapproval.

"OK. We're really going to do this. So, who are we inviting?"

Woody's eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe you should call your Dad!"

Without hesitation, she replied, "Hey, maybe you should call your brother." They both looked at the person who knew them better than anyone else in the world, trying to figure out how to get out of this one.

Once again, Lizzie rose to the occasion and lightly hopped off the bed. She squirmed her way in between them, purring, chirruping and rubbing her head on Woody's stubbly cheek. Jordan chuckled at the traitor. "She's so good! How about this, we invite one person each, and elope to city hall. We can get Paul to bless it later on, when we're ready for the whole 'inviting people' thing. I don't think God would mind."

"That means you'll invite…"

Jordan spoke quickly, "Garret. He's saved my life over and over again."

Woody's face showed mild indecision. "OK, but what about Lily?"

She hadn't thought of that. "Oh, right. Well, two each then."

"Uh-huh. That would leave me having to pick two detectives. Or maybe Nigel and Bug… that'd work, right?" He still wasn't sure about this whole elopement thing, he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

"That sounds good… but what about Kate? She's finally starting to make friends, if I leave her out of something like this she'd pretend not to care, but it would hurt her."

"We started with just the two of us, and now we're at seven and counting. With that many, the guys at work will wonder why I didn't invite them. This is how it starts, soon we'll have a list of 500 people and we'll be making those lame party favours." They had snuggled up while they were talking, having gently moved Lizzie out of the way, so his back was leaning on the bed and she had her head on his shoulder. They sat for a moment in peace, thinking.

"Woody…"

"Jordan…"

Jordan lifted her head, and smiled. "Just the two of us, huh?"

"Yeah, that's probably the best way." He smiled back at his fiancée. "But getting a license isn't an instant thing, you need a medical certificate, then there's a waiting period of three days."

"I'm a doctor so I can do the medical certificate. If we apply to a judge, he can grant a waiver to the three day waiting period. Know any friendly judges?"

"It just so happens…" Woody grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number. He stood up, held a finger up to Jordan and wandered away, quietly attempting to call in a favour.

Jordan turned and looked at her little six pack. "Coors, Sam, Miller, Guinness, Bud, and Keystone. Hey kids, like your names?" Jordan gazed at her little miracles. She sighed in contentment, resting her head on her bed. She thought how true it was that people with pets had lower blood pressure. These little guys seemed to point out the insignificance of unimportant details.

"It's all about sticking together, isn't it kids? You guys know what's important." Her finger gently stroked them as they purred in a tangled heap of kitten parts. "Stick together." She glanced out to the living room, to see Woody smiling and hanging up the phone. He softly asked, "Ready to get married?"


	5. Chapter 5

"I, Jordan Marie Cavanaugh, take you, Woodrow Wilson Hoyt, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to love, honour and cherish until death do us part."

"I, Woody Hoyt, take you Jordan Cavanaugh, to be my lawfully wedded wife; to have and to hole, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to love, honour and cherish until death do us part."

With this ring I thee wed…

As they looked at one another the solemnity of the occasion hit them. They had both lost so much, but were finally prepared to risk it all one last time. Their first kiss as man and wife was tentative, neither wanting to break the magic that held them.

They signed all the papers, took each other's hand and left the courthouse. Outside, Woody stopped. His face lit like a lightbulb, and he grabbed his wife around the waist, swinging her around.

"Woody! The vows didn't say 'throw thee around at will!'" Jordan was a little upset, but since it was his wedding day she forgave the silly man. This time. He gently put her down, and they kissed once again.

Woody spoke. "We have a lot of time to catch up on, I hope you're prepared to do that on a very regular basis!" His dimples just wouldn't disappear today. He had no regrets, second thoughts or nerves. He didn't want to ask Jordan if she felt the same way – someday maybe, but right now, he wasn't quite brave enough. He thought to himself, so much for no nerves!

Jordan had been shining at him all day with her most beautiful smile, the one he had only seen on a few occasions. "If you're talking about kissing, then yes, the more regularly you kiss me the better! If you're talking about spinning me off my feet, in public…" Here Jordan's smile darkened somewhat. " … you will come to regret it." She kissed him swiftly before grabbing his hand and pulling him to a waiting taxi. They intended to celebrate, so left the vehicles at home.

They gave the driver the address to a swanky restaurant. Woody had ideas about going straight home, but Jordan said she was hungry. "For food, Woodrow! Besides…" Her eyes narrowed, "… you're going to need your strength." He shuddered. He was as thoroughly wrapped around her finger as the wedding band.

They held on to each other tightly in the cab. Jordan was tired from all the excitement and stress. Funny, she thought to herself. This is the best thing I've ever done in my life, I feel wonderful, but I'm completely wrung out. They enjoyed each other in quiet for the duration of their drive.

The restaurant was almost empty because it was still early. They told the Maitre' D about their marriage, and he kindly seated them in a secluded corner. He brought them champagne, compliments of the house.

They raised their glasses to their marriage, to each other, to their absent family, to Lizzie and the six pack, and then they needed refills. Jordan looked at the bubbly and said, "You know, this is really nice, but there's just something about a strong Guinness, isn't there?"

"That's my girl!" Woody leaned over and gently kissed her. Jordan started laughing, and he sat back down with a confused look. "Jordan?"

"I just had a vision of Nigel's face when he sees me with a wedding band. He's going to freak."

"HE's going to freak? I don't want to be there when you tell Lily, they'll hear her in Florida! Someone had better make sure the baby isn't around or she'll lose her hearing."

"Good point. Should we tell them one at a time, or herd them all into the conference room and get it over with?" Jordan wasn't looking forward to that part. "What if we don't tell them? Just wait until the first person sees one of the rings…"

"Oh, that's a good idea. It'll last about two seconds before Nigel's onto us. Hey, you know what?" Woody was beginning to understand Jordan's reluctance to be put on the spot. He mentally slapped himself for not realizing that one much sooner, before the ring fiasco. "Let's call them! They'll be over the worst of the shock before we even see them. It may take the edge off…"

Jordan was already opening her cell. "Good idea."

"Jordan, it's your day off. What the hell are you doing calling work? I absolutely forbid you from…"

"Garret. Stop, I have something to tell you!" She thought he could probably hear the smile in her voice.

"Oh, God, Jordan what now?" Garret thought she sounded rather giddy, which was never a good thing when it came to Jordan. He sincerely hoped she wasn't back into those black rocks around her neck again, that was just… wrong!

"Woody and I got married."

Silence blared at her.

"Garret? I said…"

"I heard you! You've got my attention. Ha ha. Now, what do you really want." He didn't have time for this, he was busy. He vaguely wondered if she'd had a bit too much wine.

"No, really! I am sitting across the table from Woody right now, and we're wearing our new wedding rings. What happened was, Lizzie had kittens and…"

"So that's it! You're a grandmother and that freaks you out. No I will not take a kitten, no I do not know anyone who wants a kitten, and I hope you have a great day off. See you tomorrow, 'Mrs. Hoyt.'" Married. Yeah, right! He did expect them to settle down, but marriage was not something Jordan Cavanaugh was capable of, any more than motherhood. He closed his phone as she continued to pull his leg. Garret Macy wearily rolled his eyes at his favourite ME and got back to work on the mountain of paperwork sitting on his desk.

Jordan looked unsure of herself. "He didn't believe me! Of all the…"

Woody laughed. "Well, honey, I guess you've cried wolf once too often."

"OK, shepherd boy, you call someone. Why not try Seely! Tell him the good news!" This will be good, she thought. If Garret didn't believe her, there was no way the cynical Seely would buy the story.

He dialed Seely's number, and waited. "Seely."

"Hey, Matt! You're never going to guess what I did this morning." Woody smiled at himself.

"Let me guess, you did the horizontal tango with Cavanaugh then swept her off to City Hall for a quickie wedding." Matt was busy, he didn't have time for a Hoyt guessing game. That guy could be really cocky sometimes.

"Uh, part right…" Woody wasn't so confident.

"Whoa! You finally did Cavanaugh? What's she like? Did she, you know…"

"You know what, Seely, forget it. I'll see you tomorrow." Woody clicked his phone shut as he saw Jordan's eyes dance in humour.

"I'm not the only one who cries wolf!" She wondered who WOULD believe them? "I know, she said out loud. She dialed the number, and made a face at Woody when he covered his ears. "Lily? Hi! Say, where are you? – At home? Good. I have some news. – No, I didn't see Dad, although I think I will pretty soon. – Well, yeah, Lizzie did have kittens, how did you know? – Yeah, I guess it has been that long. – Oh, they're really cute, and I'd LOVE to give you one or two, but that's not… - Lily? Lily! – Thank you. Now listen. The reason I'm calling is to tell you that Woody and I got married today."

A moment of silence and then Woody could hear the hysterical laughter pouring from Jordan's phone. He half-smiled, and shook his head. This was obviously not working.

Jordan couldn't get past the laughter. Lily thanked her for such a funny joke and hung up to rescue Maddie who had pulled herself to standing again but still didn't know how to sit down.

Jordan looked at her husband. "We DID get married right? We're not delusional, are we?"

Woody's answer was to snap open his cell and dial a number. Jordan mouthed "who?", but Woody held up a finger. "Hi. Yeah, it's me. – I know, but I have something important to tell you and it couldn't wait." Woody listened for a moment, and his eyes lit up in a sad sort of way. "Bingo! How did you guess?"

Jordan was going crazy now, swatting his arm whispering for him to tell her who he was talking to. She thought perhaps Nigel, though she didn't think he'd guess before Woody could tell him.

"Well, she got this cat, and the cat escaped a few weeks back. Then yesterday, Lizzie, that's the cat, she had kittens. – I know, I'm getting to it! It was weird, with that little fluff ball around we were able to talk, really get over the crap." Woody took her hand and brushed a little kiss onto her knuckles.

"Yeah, sure, she's right here." Woody passed the phone to Jordan.

"Hello?"


	6. Chapter 6

AN/ Back from holidays! While I was away Lizzie's alter ego, Patches, was living in our trailer with us and kept me working on the story. I didn't surprise most of you, obviously, but I believe there is joy in finding things you expect...

I'm going to try to upload a pic of the queen of my house into that new photo part of my profile. I figure she needs to be adored by more than the four of us and a dog.

* * *

"So, you finally agreed to have sex with my brother! Maybe he won't be such a lunk-head anymore." 

Jordan smiled in pleasure at Cal's voice. "Yeah, but I had to get a wedding ring first."

"Smart move. With Woods, old-fashioned stuff like that really butters him up. I'll give you a few tips sometime when he's not right there listening."

Jordan smirked at Woody. "Now that would be helpful." A hint of fear entered Woody's face.

She could hear the honest pleasure in his voice as Cal continued. "So when do I get to buy my new sister a drink?"

Jordan gazed at her husband while listening to Cal. Suddenly she had a husband and a brother. Well, she thought, a brother who wasn't… whatever the hell James was. "We probably won't be able to avoid a party once everyone believes us. I'll make sure Lily has your number."

"Thanks. I'm gonna let you go, you two have lots of sex to catch up on. If that idiot does something really stupid, gimme a call and I'll beat him up for ya!"

"I'll remember that. Talk to you soon." Jordan handed the phone back to Woody, who had a dry look on his face. "OK, what'd you tell her?" He covered his eyes, but the smirk remained on his lips. "We'll just see about that! Cal? When you come, bring gifts. Got it? – OK. Bye!"

Jordan took Woody's hand. "See, that wasn't so bad. You two have something I never had. You have to cherish that."

"And you have something to cherish that I don't have. Call Max." Woody looked directly at her and slid the phone back over to her.

Jordan looked down. She sighed, saying "When did you get all well-adjusted?" He smirked back at her while she dialed.

"Hey, Dad."

"What, is the world going to end? Jordan Cavanaugh calling her father twice in one year? It's a miracle!"

"I love you, too. The world is not going to end, and no, hell didn't freeze over." Her tone of voice became serious. "I just wanted to tell you that… um… Woody…"

"Did that boy finally propose to you? Because it's high time he stepped up and…"

"No, he didn't propose. I did. Yesterday"

Once again that morning, silence filled the receiver.

Jordan took a deep breath. "And we got married this morning at city hall. He – well, he thought I should – you know – tell you about it…"

"Jordan. Long brown hair, doctor, snoopy kid, that Jordan, right?"

"Come on, Dad, no one else believed us except Cal. Why won't anyone accept that I am capable of making a commitment? I mean, I… well, I…"

Jordan's voice trailed off as it hit her. She'd quit every job she'd held, even the one she currently held. She'd used men for physical relationships but ran like hell the moment they got that look in their eyes. Girlfriends were practically non-existent in her life. She avoided her father.

"You still there?" Max patiently waited for her to come to terms with this particular shock.

"Uh, yeah, I'm… I'm still here."

"Now you listen to me, young lady, I never once said you weren't **capable** of a commitment. It's just nice to know you finally figured it out for yourself. You and Woody, you two have something special. When you're with him, sometimes, your eyes remind me of my little girl before all the trouble, or… Or your mother before… well, you know."

Max paused for a moment. Jordan thought she heard a small catch in his breath.

He managed to continue. "And he makes you call your father. That's a very good trait in a husband, I definitely approve."

"Dad?"

"Yes, Honey?"

"Thanks. You know I love you, right?" Jordan didn't even try to conceal the tears on her cheeks.

"I know, sweetheart. Look, I want to see you two. I've got some business I have to take care of, but I'll be down in a couple of weeks. I'll call, alright?"

"OK, Dad. I don't know where we're going to live yet, but we'll have a guest room."

Woody's eyes held her through the whole conversation. He knew it wasn't easy for her to reach out to her father, and he was proud of her. When she mentioned a guest room, he nodded. He had no idea where they'd live, but if his bride wanted a guestroom, they'd get one.

"Bye, Dad. Love you."

Jordan closed the phone and set it very deliberately on the table. "Well, it seems there are two people out there who don't think we're a couple of teenagers making crank calls."

"The most important people. We've got to make sure we don't give up on them, ever, I mean, neither of us has anyone besides… well we have each other now, too…"

"Family." Jordan squeezed his hand. "We both gotta try harder, there. Especially if we… you know, ever… decide to expand. The family."

A huge grin filled Woody's face and his dimples reminded her of the farm boy she met so long ago. "Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?"

"Yes, Woody. I think we should…" As her voice faded one more time, one eyebrow raised a bit. "Breed cats, 'cause Lizzie has sure helped me cut through the crap. I can see it now; 'Kittens with curative powers of emotional healing, dewormed and litter trained.' We could charge hundreds of dollars!"

"Kittens."

"Kittens! Why, what did you think?" Jordan's eyes sparkled as her hand cupped his cheek and gently stroked his skin. His face leaned into her fingers.

He caught that hand and slowly kissed her palm before he murmured in a low voice. "I think, Mrs. Hoyt, we need to go home and discuss this further – that is if Lizzie will let us use the bed."

She made deep eye contact that increased the tension. "We've been waiting way too long for **that** discussion."

They stretched across the table and met for yet another kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Last chapter! At least two more stories in this series are coming. Thanks to all my reviewers and lurkers, love you all! Oh, you can see Patches, Lizzie's real-life inspiration, on my profile page.

* * *

Well, this was more like it, Lizzie thought.

She had been unceremoniously dumped back into the box in the closet, along with her brood of babies. Despite all the commotion, though, she didn't mind terribly. She could feel the pheromones in the air, the static between her two pets. Finally, they were behaving properly.

She watched them fall to the bed. She briefly wondered how it would work with all those clothes, but they quickly took care of that. She looked at a shirt that landed in front of her, thinking it would make a good nest for the babes. Maybe later, right now they all wanted to eat, again.

Lizzie lazily gazed at Woody and Jordan, who were all mixed up with those long limbs and blankets. She could smell the sweat, and other things. The sounds coming from the bed were sensible animal sounds, sounds Lizzie could understand. Pleased, her loud purrs started a chorus of rumbles from the little ones.

Feeding time was mostly finished in the kitten nest, and she was hungry herself. She wandered out of the bedroom, glancing up at the bed when Jordan's breathing suddenly stopped, and a deep, guttural call came from her throat. Liz was pretty sure she knew what that one meant.

When she returned from her dinner, her kids were piled up in the box, happily asleep. Lizzie watched her pets. The breathing from the bed had increased in depth. The scent and the vibe were heating up again. Liz was trying to figure out why they were starting again, when suddenly, she saw what looked like a mouse under the blankets. Her ears straightened instantly as she prepared to catch her dessert.

Her rear end swayed back and forth as her tail swished. The rodent was moving quickly, then slowly, oblivious to it's impending doom. She slowly glided across the floor. In the perfect spot, her hind legs wiggled, getting into launch position. Her front legs dug in. Whiskers were in full alert. She heard her pets increase in volume, and she wondered how they couldn't know there was a mouse under the blankets.

At just the precise moment, her finely-tuned muscles exploded and she was on the rodent, claws-first. Her teeth were prepared to sink into a furry neck, but she was suddenly lifted from the bed and sent flying.

"LIZZIE!" A shriek came from two voices simultaneously.

From the floor, Lizzie immediately began regally washing herself. Of course it wasn't a furry animal, it was Jordan's hand moving over a certain part of Woody's body. These pets of hers were very odd. She couldn't quite figure out all the wiggling hand tricks. When **she** made kittens there wasn't so much extraneous activity.

Her paw froze in mid-wash. She glanced back at the bed. They were making that laugh sound again. They were making the talk sound too, talking about her. Well! She lifted her tail in their direction, and very deliberately stepped back to the nest. She re-organized the little ones and settled in.

The bed was moving again, and the laughing and talking was finished. She knew they were making kittens again. Funny! She only needed to do that once and she got six babies. Why did these people need to do it over and over? How annoying would that be? She haughtily placed her chin on the edge of the nest, and relaxed. At least those two were finally getting down to business, even if they did it in weird ways.

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Jordan and Woody collapsed into each other, sharing a deep gaze. In a breathless voice, Woody said, "Who the hell thought that cat was a good idea?"

"Um, I believe that would be you." Jordan smirked. "I have to admit, that's definitely a new one for me!"

Looking over at the pretty little creature who had just settled into her bed, Woody scowled at her. "She's pretty good at spoiling the mood, isn't she?"

"I don't know, I didn't hear you complaining – well, not for long, anyway."

"How 'bout we move that cat bed, like outside the bedroom? I value my anatomy, especially the parts I need to start a family!"

"A family, huh?" Jordan smirked slightly and glanced into his eyes from her comfy spot on his shoulder. "Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about kittens this time?"

"We weren't talking about kittens last time, either, and you know it." He looked at her with paranoid concern. "I just assumed, I mean, I thought you wanted kids after that thing with Kayla. Was I wrong? 'Cause, ya know, you're more important… I mean, if you don't want – kids…"

"Woody." Jordan interrupted him. She sat up and made clear eye contact with him. "All joking aside. I want to have children. With you. And considering my age, we have to start soon."

"Well, if you wait for a half an hour or so… and keep Lizzie away from me!"

"Half an hour, huh? What'll we do while we wait?" Her eyes spoke the answer for her.

"Hmm." Woody pretended to think. "Well, we could go watch a little TV…"

His voice disappeared behind the solid whump of a pillow on his face.

"Or not…"

AN: Lizzie's ill-timed pounce is autobiographical. Almost had a kittie pancake on the wall. Fortunately, no animals were harmed in the making of this fanfic.


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